Long before the Nintendo 3DS and Sony PSVita were even thought possible and even before Nintendo made the GameBoy a household name a company named Coleco echoed through the ears of video gamers who wanted to take gaming everywhere they wanted to go.
The early 80's video game boom saw gaming literally appear everywhere. Arcade games appeared in every type of public business you could think of while consoles that hooked up to home television sets brought blocky gaming experiences home.
Capitalizing on this trend combined with the popularity of handheld electronic games such as Mattel's Football, Coleco began licensing and producing small "tabletop" video games based on some of the most popular games of the day.
Despite Atari holding the licenses for home console versions of Pac-Man and Galaxian, Coleco was able to get the rights to produce the Mini-Arcade versions, both of which became top sellers. A literal parade of hits followed with the addition of Frogger, Donkey Kong and Ms. Pac-Man. A version of Nintendo's Game and Watch Donkey Kong Junior and a version of Zaxxon rounded out the Coleco line before the mid-80's industry crash.
Rather than make traditional handheld games the Coleco Mini-Arcade games attempted to duplicate the look of the arcade hits right down to the cabinet artwork. A series of commercials featuring a character named "Mr. Arcade" shrinking full size arcade games down into the Mini-Arcade games drove the point home. The result was a fun arcade feel that didn't exist in any home console versions of arcade hits at the time.
The Coleco games are popular collector's items today. Some of the later releases saw smaller production numbers and even the more popular releases are difficult to find in good condition after being played to death in their heyday.
Take a look at the slideshow and video to the left to see more about the Coleco Mini-Arcades as either a trip down memory lane or, for younger gamers, a good gaming history lesson.
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The author of this arcade can be reached at PatrickScottPatterson.com and on Twitter @OriginalPSP.
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